The Signs Gospel

Signs
Gospel

Quoting Andrew Bernhard, author of The Lost Gospels,
"The following reconstruction
of the hypothetical source employed by the author of the fourth
gospel is derived from the analysis found in Robert Fortna's
The Fourth Gospel and Its Predecessor. The text of the
Signs Gospel has been reconstructed using the New Revised Standard
Version (NRSV) of the Gospel of John; differences between the
text of the Signs Gospel and the NRSV are printed in italics."

John
1

(6) There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (7) He came
as a witness, so that all might believe through him.

(19) This
is the testimony given by John when priests and Levites
came to ask him, "Who are you?"

(20) He
confessed, "I am not the Messiah."

(21) And they
asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"

He said, "I
am not."

"Are you the
prophet?"

He answered,
"No."

(22) Then
they said to him, "Who are you? What do you say about
yourself?"

(23) He said,
"I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make
straight the way of the Lord,' " as the prophet Isaiah
said. I baptize with water. Among you stands (27) the
one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the
thong of his sandal."

(28) He saw
Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb
of God. I came for this reason, that he might be revealed
to Israel. I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like
a dove on him. (34) And I myself have seen and have testified
that this is the Son of God."

(35) Now
John was standing with two of his disciples who
heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. (38)
They said to him, "Rabbi, where are you staying?"

(39) He said
to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was
staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about
four o'clock in the afternoon.

(40) One of
the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew.
(41) He first found his brother Simon and said to him,
"We have found the Messiah." (42)

He brought
Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon
son of John. You are to be called Cephas."

He found Philip
and Jesus said to him, "Follow me." (44) Now Philip
was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

(45) Philip
found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about
whom Moses in the law wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from
Nazareth."

(46) Nathanael
said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

Philip said
to him, "Come and see."

(47) When
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him,
"Here is truly an Israelite."

(49) Nathanael
replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King
of Israel!"

John
2

(1) There
was a wedding in Cana, and the mother of Jesus was there.
(2) Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the
wedding. (3) When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus
said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." (6)
Now standing there were six stone water jars, each holding
twenty or thirty gallons.

(7) Jesus
said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled
them up to the brim.

(8) He said
to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief
steward." So they took it.

(9) When the
steward tasted the water that had become wine, the steward
called the bridegroom (10) and said to him, "Everyone
serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine
after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept
the good wine until now."

(11) Jesus
did this, the first of his signs; and his disciples believed
in him.

(12) After
this he went down to Capernaum with his disciples.

John
4

(46) Now there
was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. (47)
He went and said to him, "Sir, come down before my little
boy dies."

(50) Jesus
said, "Go; your son will live."

The man started
on his way. (51) As he was going down, his slaves met
him and told him that his child was alive. (52) So he
asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they
said to him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever
left him." (53) So he himself believed, along with his
whole household.

(54) Now this
was the second sign that Jesus did.

John
21

(2) Gathered
there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin,
Nathanael of Cana, the sons of Zebedee. (3) Simon Peter
said to them, "I am going fishing."

They said
to him, "We will go with you."

They went
out and got into the boat, but that night they caught
nothing.

(4) Just after
daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach. (6) He said to them,
"Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will
find some."

So they cast
it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there
were so many fish. (7) Simon Peter put on some clothes
and jumped into the sea (8) for they were not far from
the land, only about a hundred yards off. (11) So Simon
Peter went ashore and hauled the net ashore, full
of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though
there were so many, the net was not torn. (14) This was
now the third sign that Jesus did before the
disciples.

John
6

(1) After
this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Tiberias.
(3) He went up the mountain and sat down there
with his disciples. (5) When he looked up and saw a large
crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where
are we to buy bread for these people to eat?"

(7) Philip
answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough
bread for each of them to get a little."

(8) One of
his disciples said to him, (9) "There is a boy here who
has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they
among so many people?"

(10) Jesus
said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great
deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five
thousand in all. (11) Then Jesus took the loaves, and
when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those
who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

(13) And from
the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those
who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. (14) When the
people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say,
"This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

(15) Jesus
withdrew again to the mountain by himself. (16) When
evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, (17)
got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.
(18) The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
(19) When they had rowed about three or four miles, they
saw Jesus walking on the sea, and they were terrified.
(20) But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."
(21) And immediately the boat reached the land toward
which they were going.

John
11

(1) Now a
certain Mary; (2) her brother Lazarus was ill. (3) She
sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is
ill."

(7) He said
to the disciples, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.
Let us go to him."

(17) When
Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been
in the tomb four days. (32) When Mary saw him, she knelt
at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died."

(33) When
Jesus saw her weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit
and deeply moved. (34) He said, "Where have you laid him?"

They said
to him, "Lord, come and see."

(38) Then
Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was
lying against it. (39) Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Then he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come
out!"

(44) The dead
man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of
cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to
them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

(45) Those
who had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

John
9

(1) As he
walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. (6) He spat
on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread
the mud on the man's eyes, (7) saying to him, "Go, wash
in the pool of Siloam." Then he went and washed and
came back able to see. (8) The neighbors and those who
had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this
not the man who used to sit and beg?"

John
5

(2) Now in
Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in
Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. (3) In these
lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. (5) One
man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had
been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to
be made well?"

(7) The sick
man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the
pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making
my way, someone else steps down ahead of me."

(8) Jesus
said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk."

(9) At once
the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began
to walk.

John
2

(14) In the
temple Jesus found people selling cattle, sheep,
and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
(15) Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out
of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also
poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned
their tables. (16) He told those who were selling the
doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my
Father's house a marketplace!"

(18) The Jews
then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing
this?"

19 Jesus answered
them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it up."

John
11

(47) So the
chief priests called a meeting of the council, and said,
"This man is performing many signs. (48) If we let him
go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the
Romans will come and destroy our nation."

(49) But one
of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said
to them, (50) "It is better for you to have one man
die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed."
(53) So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

John
12

(37) Although
he had performed so many signs, they did not believe in
him. (38) This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet
Isaiah: "Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom
has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" (39) And so they
could not believe, because Isaiah also said, (40) "He
has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that
they might not look with their eyes, and understand with
their heart and turn— and I would heal them."

(1) Six days
before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of
Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. (2) There they
gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was
one of those at the table with him. (3) Mary took a pound
of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus, and
wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the
fragrance of the perfume.

(4) But Judas
Iscariot, one of his disciples, said, (5) "Why was this
perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money
given to the poor?"

(7) Jesus
said, "She bought it so that she might keep it for the
day of my burial. (8) You always have the poor with you,
but you do not always have me."

(12) The next
day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard
that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. (13) So they took
branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of
the Lord— the King of Israel!"

(14) Jesus
found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
(15) "Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king
is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!"

John
13

(1) Now before
the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour
had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them
to the end. (2) The devil had already put it into the
heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And
during supper (3) Jesus, knowing that the Father had given
all things into his hands, and that he had come from God
and was going to God, (4) got up from the table, took
off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. (5)
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the
disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was
tied around him. (6) He came to Simon Peter, who said
to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

(7) Jesus
answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later
you will understand."

(8) Peter
said to him, "You will never wash my feet."

Jesus answered,
"Unless I wash you, you have no share with me."

(9) Simon
Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my
hands and my head!"

(10) Jesus
said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash,
except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are
clean, though not all of you." (11) For he knew who was
to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you
are clean."

(12) After
he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had
returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what
I have done to you? (13) You call me Teacher and Lord—and
you are right, for that is what I am. (14) So if I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought
to wash one another's feet. (15) For I have set you an
example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
(16) Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater
than their master, nor are messengers greater than the
one who sent them. (17) If you know these things, you
are blessed if you do them. (18) I am not speaking of
all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill
the scripture, 'The one who ate my bread has lifted his
heel against me.' (19) I tell you this now, before it
occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that
I am he. (20) Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives
one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives
him who sent me."

John
18

(1) Jesus
went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to
a place where there was a garden. (2) Now Judas, who betrayed
him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there
with his disciples. (3) So Judas brought a detachment
of soldiers together with police from the chief priests,
and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
(4) Then Jesus asked them, "Whom are you looking for?"

(5) They answered,
"Jesus of Nazareth."

Jesus replied,
"I am he."

(10)
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the
high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's
name was Malchus.

(11) Jesus
said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am
I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?"
(12) So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police
arrested Jesus and bound him.

(13) First
they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
the high priest that year. (15) Simon Peter and another
disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known
to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard
of the high priest, (16) but Peter was standing outside
at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the
high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded
the gate, and brought Peter in.

(17) The woman
said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples,
are you?"

He said, "I
am not."

(18) Now the
slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because
it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming
themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming
himself.

(19) Then
the high priest questioned Jesus about his teaching. (20)
Jesus answered, "I have always taught in the temple, where
all come together. (21) Why do you ask me?"

(22) When
he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck
Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the
high priest?"

(24) Then
Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. (25)They
asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are
you?"

He denied
it and said, "I am not."

(26) One of
the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose
ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the
garden with him?"

(27) Again
Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

(28) Then
they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters.
It was early in the morning. (29) Pilate said, "What accusation
do you bring against this man?"

(33) Then
Pilate summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the King
of the Jews?"

Jesus answered,
"You say that I am a king."

(38) He told
them, "I find no case against him. (39) But you have a
custom that I release someone for you at the Passover.
Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?"

(40) They
shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas
was a bandit.

John
19

(1) Then Pilate
took Jesus and had him flogged. (2) And the soldiers wove
a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed
him in a purple robe. (3) They kept coming up to him,
saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on
the face.

(6) And the
police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

Pilate said
to them, "I find no case against him."

(13) Pilate
brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at
a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha.
(14) Now it was the day of Preparation; and it was about
noon. (16) Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took
Jesus. (17) He went out to what is called The Place of
the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. (18) There
they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either
side. (19) And there was written, "Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews." (20) And it was written in Hebrew,
in Latin, and in Greek.

(23) When
the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes
and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier.
They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top. (24) So they said to
one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it
to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the
scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots."

(25) And that
is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the
cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (28) After
this, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I
am thirsty."

(29) A jar
full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge
full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to
his mouth.

(30) When
Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished."
Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

(31) Since
it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the
bodies left on the cross during the sabbath. So they asked
Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and
the bodies removed. (32) Then the soldiers came and broke
the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified
with him. (33) But when they came to Jesus and saw that
he was already dead, they did not break his legs. (34)
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear,
and at once blood and water came out. (36) These things
occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None
of his bones shall be broken."

(37) And again
another passage of scripture says, "They will look on
the one whom they have pierced." (38) After these things,
Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, asked
Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate
gave him permission; so he came and removed his body and
wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths.

(41) Now there
was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and
in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had
ever been laid. (42) And so, because it was the day of
Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus
there.

John
20

(1) Early
on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the
tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the
tomb. (2) So she ran and went to Simon Peter and said,
"They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not
know where they have laid him."

(3) Then Peter
set out and went toward the tomb and went into the tomb.
(9) For as yet they did not understand the scripture,
that he must rise from the dead. (10) Then he returned
to his home.

(11) But Mary
stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent
over to look into the tomb; (12) and she saw two angels
in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying,
one at the head and the other at the feet. (14) She turned
around and saw Jesus standing there.

(15) Jesus
said to her, "Whom are you looking for, Mary?"

She said to
him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!."

(17) Jesus
said to her, "Do not hold on to me. But go to my brothers."

(18) Mary
Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have
seen the Lord."

(19) When
it was evening on that day and the doors of the house
where the disciples had met were locked, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." (20) He
showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

(22) He breathed
on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

(30) Now Jesus
did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book. (31) But these are
written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is
the Messiah, the Son of God.